Smoking Addiction & Recovery Support Group

The CDC claims that nicotine is a "very addictive drug" that can be "as addictive as heroin or cocaine." Nicotine is typically eliminated from the body within 2 to 3 days, however, physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms may last for much longer depending on the individual. If you are trying to kick the habit, this community is dedicated to giving smokers the...

Cravings Galore

This is my 26th day today of non-smoking. Went off the patch an hour ago and going through some terrible cravings. It's not so bad now but it's still hanging in there. I know I have to distract myself to beat this thing. I'm determined not to smoke. Can't do it now after all this time. I'm going to ride the tide.

How are you doing Casty? Hope you're still hanging in there. It's a terrible addiction, isn't it? When it hits you it really hits you.
Played cards last night with some friends and one of them smoked. I was edgy about it but I didn't have a craving. Today, I went to the coffeehouse which I know I shouldn't do but I had to do something. I'm retired and have a lot of time on my hands. I could do a jigsaw puzzle but can't get my mind to do it. I just don't want to do anything in particular. I'm in a rut and that doesn't help my situation. I think I'm going through depression right now and that has a lot to do with my cravings. Got to snap out of it. I'm chewing on a straw right now as I'm posting. The craving is going away now and I think I'll be ok.

Hang in there. It's been awhile since anyone has referred to the five D's, so here they are. When a craving hits,
Delay until the urge passes usually within 3-5 minutes
Distract yourself
Drink water
Deep Breaths Close your eyes and take 10 slow, deep breaths
Discuss your feelings with someone close to you.
I''ll add a sixth D - which is DS - visit this site!
Is there anything you can do for distraction that gets you out of the house and in touch with other people that doesn't involve being around smokers? Can you go to the library? Go to a food bank or a shelter and pitch in for a few hours? Volunteer someplace else? (I see you do a lot of volunteer work, so I'm talking about something that wouldn't be another major commitment, but something you could do for a few hours here and there.) Take a class at a local community college or adult school, not because you need to learn anything, but just for the distraction value alone? I know what you mean about being in a rut and having a hard time focusing. I went through the same thing. I joined an online book club and did a &quot;group read&quot; - something I never did before and will probably never do again, but it was a tremendous distraction and helped get me through the worst of it. I think it is very important to try new things - it helps alter old patterns that are connected to smoking.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I tried to quit with the patch in the past and it didn't work for me.

I think the main reason is because it continues to give your body nicotine, which is the very thing you are trying to rid your body of.

You may not &quot;smoke&quot;, but nonetheless you are still feeding your body nicotine, and therefore your body still craves it after you take the patch off.

What ends up happening is that you may quit &quot;smoking&quot; with the patch, but your body doesn't really care how it get's the nicotine, as long as it get's it.

So now you need to quit the patch, which can be just as difficult.

You've made it pretty far on the patch (26days), now it's time to see how far you can go without the patch.

I have read that it takes 21 days of doing something (or in this case NOT doing something) to make a habit. If you can go 21 days without the patch or gum or smokes, in other words completely nicotine free, you will have created the habit of being a non-smoker!

Congratulations on your quit!! It is tough but you can do it! I agree with all of Beesley's advice.
I find that while stress is a trigger...so is too much time. Smoking was &quot;something to do&quot;. To me it was like a hobby, (a really bad hobby) but it passed the time. So it is like you gave up a hobby that kept you occupied for years. You need a new hobby.
Quitting smoking is for many a real lifestyle change.
Depression also seems to go with it. Think of things to keep busy with. I took a lot of walks in the beginning.
You are doing great so far. Eventually you will begin to feel normal as a non smoker.
Keep it up!! :)

Well, I tried the 5 D's but it didn't work...fell off the wagon and had one cigarette. But I'm not going back to the patch. I want to be nicotine free. I just have to persevere and not cave in like I just did. I have a new enthusiasm that I can do it this time and without the patch. It's true you're not nicotine free until you get off the patch or NRT, whatever you're using. And so the craves. Now I know what to expect and I'm ready to tackle it. I don't want to lose all of my days I've invested in already.

I'm going to get rid of the package I've got. I don't want to smoke any more. I have had it. I'll stick to this site and keep posting. It seems to help me a great deal.

Ginette, I'm glad you're going to continue your quit. Whatever it takes. I just hope that others reading this thread don't discount NRTs if they think that they offer a viable quit method for them. It's true that you are not nicotine-free until you are off of them, but there are all kinds of way to use NRTs, like starting with a less than recommended dose to make the amount of nicotine taken lower, weaning down regularly, cutting patches in half to cut the amount of nicotine even more, and going from a low dose patch to the gum or the lozenge or the inhaler, hopefully using less and less nicotine over time and then eventually none at all. Or how about not using the patch at all and just using the gum or the lozenges at the beginning of a quit, and then giving that up slowly. I think it is better to have help from an NRT than to smoke again, and it's better to have help from an NRT than to climb out of your skin if that's what a cold turkey quit does to you.

My husband just quit Christmas day and he was using the patches. He stopped using them on the 4th day because he didn't like how he felt. He was really grumpy but so was I when I quit. He is doing it cold turkey now and is doing quite well. Keep up your quit. You are so worth it.

I'm doing really good since I got off the patch...I just have thoughts of smoking but not actual cravings. I am going to continue with my quit Tessa. But if it does get unbearable again I might use the gum and see if that works. But so far I have no need to do that. I am a bit grumpy but I know that will pass because it's been such a struggle before to quit. I'm just going to keep on reading and posting and hanging in there.

Ginette a big congrats to you for quitting! You had a little slip, it happens but you got right back up on the no smoking wagon and that's so important psychologically for a successful quit. Personally I quit cold turkey and it was not all that bad but I absolutely understand that cold turkey is not for everyone and whatever works to get you off the nicotine addiction is a blessing. Remember that a crave is not a command, it's only a crave and most craves will pass within 3-5 min. Craves won't kill you but smoking will! Do drink ice water when you feel a crave coming and then get up and move move move. Do light exercise if that's possible and if not then just go into a different room and surround yourself with a different space. Eat healthy snacks. I swear by frozen grapes (green is my fave but they all work)Frozen strawberries or any kind of berry works equally well. I also ate hummus and used raw veggies as my &quot;dippers&quot; Try sucking on a whole clove. The taste is most certainly strong but your breath will smell wonderful and your tongue will get a bit numb and a ciggie will taste horrible...you won't even want to smoke with the clove taste in your mouth. Try &quot;puffing&quot; on cinnamon sticks if you need the hand to mouth thing. Straws work too, you may want to stuff one end of a straw with cotton and get it to the consistancy of a ciggie filter. REWARD YOURSELF! You are giving up one of the toughest addictions out there and you should not feel like you're being deprived. My own reward was a small piece of dark chocolate at the end of every smoke free day for the first couple of months. I also took long hot soaks in the tub using my fave bubble bath or bath oils. I brought in soft music, even put ice water in a big wine glass and sipped on it and put the cukes over my eyes. I then piled on some wonderful smelling lotions after my bath. Hmmmmmmmm sounds like aromatherapy now doesn't it? LOL I'm a music maniac and treated myself to a new album every two weeks. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying ciggies every day. You will know what to treat yourself with. Try using a quit meter. A quit meter tracks how long you have not smoked, how much money you saved, how much of your life you saved....all positive reinforcement. I personally use the quitkeeper, its free to download and easy to use. Here's what it looks like when you hit the hotkeys:
I have been quit for 10 Months, 2 Weeks, 6 Days, 1 hour, 43 minutes and 32 seconds (326 days). I have saved $1,418.41 by not smoking 6,521 cigarettes. I have saved 3 Weeks, 1 Day, 15 hours and 25 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 2/13/2007 4:00 PM
Here's the link to go get your free quit meter http://www.dedicateddesigns.com/qk/download.htm
Well I hope some of this will work for you. It does take a bit of time to overcome the psychological addiction but it's absolutely possible to do and it's perhaps the most rewarding thing you can do for yourself. Keep posting, let us know how you're doing and feel free to add me to your friend's list. I'm happy to help whenever I can.

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